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The Daring Librarian

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This is reading promotion idea that's inexpensive, low-tech, includes student voice, and I totally nabbed it from the amazing Librarian Tiff five years ago and I still love it! It's kind of what you can call an oldie but a goodie.

I don't put this display out at the beginning of the school year. I've found that it's good to bring it out mid-year or connected to a reading promotion lesson activity like Speed Dating with Books to generate interest. Shockingly, it seems that my middle schoolers respond to "new" things, so I bring this out in the lull between Winter and Spring break. But this can work at any time in a school library or ELA classroom.

It's kinda like a low-tech YELP review for books!
I was inspired by Librarian tiff because she also does this in her school library and created this amazing graphic below, made it Creative Commons, and gave it out to the world! I love beautiful signage that I don't have to make myself! Because I'm k…

Short Story: A wonderful 6th grade student & I teamed up and made this bookmark sheet and I want to share it with you.

I made copies and gave several to the creative young kid. Then, a few days later, one of my marvelous teachers Mrs. Granger, had her kids, including the boy who helped create the Ninja Unicorn, color it and we're going to laminate it. I took a picture and was just amazed. My not so adroit drawings and rather amateurish lettering were brought to life and made to look better by the amazing coloring of the kiddos.

Why not ask some of your kids to come up with their own coloring bookmarks? If you do, please share them with me and I will share them with my kids. Maybe we could trade them!?

I've talked about the Art of the Shelfie before, but I had a recent rant I just wanted to share with you. I started with "Hey girl" as a nod to the "Hey girl" meme and my preoccupation with the hit book, "Girl, Wash Your Face" by @msrachelhollis. It was really just to get your attention, I know educator guys might benefit from this rant, too! I'm equal opportunity judgey.

You know what's great about having a professional Twitter & Instagram? You can just focus on the kids. (It should already be our focus, right?) But it's sometimes kinda comforting to hide behind the kids. Social Media shy? Take pics of your kids being awesome & post them. Not sure about photo consent? Take pics over their shoulders, they'll recognize their shoulders, hair, & hands!

To quote the wise Dalton in the cinematic Oeuvre that is the movie Roadhouse:
Opinions vary. Of course it's OK to take a selfie now and then! But when
the focus is off t…

OK, that's a kind of a big statement. You may have heard of this, but I found this out right before Christmas and started this blog then...but, you know. Holidays. So....just in case you haven't heard about this, here it is.

The Space Bar Cursor Trick on the iPhone / iPad in iOS 12 is a great time saver for every iPhone or Apple user.

You can press and hold (long press) the space bar on an iPhone / iPad to control the cursor as mouse pointer. You can easily move over to the exact spot where you want to edit the text.
How did I go years and years without knowing this iPhone keyboard trick? (I'm so tired the overused word of hack) Apparently, it's not exactly new but little known. If you've ever felt the frustration of trying to move the cursor exactly where you want it when correcting (my increasingly less accurate -what's with that, too?) voice to text results tapping here and tapping there, when texting or writing…

As an educator I was touched by this timeless Huffington Post article from Mr. James Perry, once mayoral candidate, and the the Executive Director of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center:
"Among the most important lessons I've learned from Dr. King is the example of servant leadership. A servant leader is one who offers an inclusive vision; listens carefully to others; persuades through reason; and heals divisions while building community.It is easy to spot servant leaders. In a room where others are jockeying for attention, they are the ones listening to someone others might consider unimportant. When faced with a problem, they look for solutions that benefit everyone. When something goes wrong, they take the blame. When things go well, they share the credit. They tell everyone the same story, even when it is inconvenient or difficult. They know that they don't have all the answers, so they seek advice from others. They work hard and inspire others to do t…

WARNING: Because this post contains a LOT of Instagram embedded posts, it may take a bit longer to load.
At the very bottom of the page I have links to why having a professional School or Library or School Library Instagram is important.
Now, most of our kids love, I mean LOVE getting their pics taken for our Instagram. They often come up and ask me to take their pics on a special day, their birthday, or when they have a cool new pair of kicks. But some are a little shy. This young lady is is an example! But I showed these pics to her Mom, and she LOVED them and gave me permission to post! Hee hee hee. Don't worry, my sporty friend here is really super outgoing!Moms gave me permission to post this! The total cuteness of these two pictures is undeniable!
A post shared by @GwynethJones (@the…

Gwyneth is a blogger, a Tweeter, a Future Ready International Keynote EdTech & Librarian speaker, a trope and meme archivist, creator of content, a citizen of advocacy, and a resident of social media.
Ms. Jones is a Google Certified Innovator & Ambassador, a PBS / MPT American Graduate Champion,of Change, PBS, NTTI, & MPT Teacher of the Year (2001), and the author of the award winning The Daring Librarian blog.
In recognition of being a change agent in her field, Ms. Jones was named an Innovator and one of 50 international Movers & Shakers 2011 by Library Journal Magazine and also on of 50 Librarians to Follow on Instagram by Scholastic Education. She has also been named a Gale/Cengage New Leader, and the Best of the Best and a Visionary Leader by Teacher Librarian Magazine.
As a leader of Education Technology, Ms. Jones was honored to have been elected twice to the ISTE Board of Directors representing all PK-12 educators and school librarians. Her work & writings have been featured in the New York Times, NEA Today Magazine, Information Today Magazine, The Washington Post, and the Huffington Post. Admittedly, she’s also a goofball, a geek, and ridiculously humble.

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Disclaimer:

The views expressed on these pages are mine alone and not those of my employer. I also reserve the right to misspell words, make wild generalizations, have unfounded opinions, and be snarky. Snarky is not a crime.

Just in case. If I say something stupid in the future, it’s better to be able to point out that the stupidity is mine, and mine alone. My stupidity! You can’t have it! :)

I love hearing from my readers and I welcome their emails with cool questions, great tips, effusive compliments, and offers to speak in exotic locations with luxury suites, Tropical Skittles, and a driver picking me up at the airport. (Hey! A girl can dream, right!?) However, if you email me a question that could have been easily answered by searching this blog or by Googling "your desired topic" and "Daring Librarian" I reserve the right be a little snarky and to tease you - gently.